Ipswich learns at last how to be cool

Trendy waterfront flats and a glass tower are transforming the Suffolk county town, says Marion Welham

For years, the people of Ipswich could have been forgiven for thinking they were lagging behind the booming city of Norwich. Now the Suffolk county town is giving its old rival a run for its money.

Ipswich’s Victorian waterfront is being transformed with newly chic maritime architecture, two marinas and a quayside promenade with shops, restaurants and bars.

Of 800 homes built on and around the waterfront since 2000, many have been bought by investors from London and the home counties, or young professionals from Essex who have realised they can get more for their money by moving half an hour further from London. An annual season ticket to Liverpool Street costs £4,400.

“You can jump on the train and be in the City in under an hour, and some of that City money has already found its way up here,” says John Spice, regional office partner at the Ipswich